Do you have a university degree (MSc or PhD) in earth or environmental sciences with a strong background in eco-hydrology, micrometeorology, vegetation, or soil science? Do you want to contribute to national level research on greenhouse gas balance in low lying areas of Netherlands? Then this opportunity may be for you!The
Water Systems and Global Change group of Wageningen University & Research is looking for a talented scientist to join their team as a PhD or Postdoc researcher.
Drained organic soils are an important source of greenhouse gases worldwide. Also in the low lying areas of the Netherlands drainage of its organic soils, with the aim to enable more intensive usage of the land, leads to oxidation of organic material, significant carbon dioxide release and subsequent land subsidence. As part of climate mitigation policies the Dutch government seeks to reduce these emissions by at least 1 Mtonne in 2030. In support of these policies, several research projects funded at (sub-) national level (such as the
National Research programme on Greenhouse Gases in Peatlands (in Dutch NOBV) aim to investigate the effects of various mitigation measures on total greenhouse gas balance of the targeted areas.
WSG has built up a considerable track record in studying interactions between greenhouse gas exchange, hydrology, land use, and climate (change). WSG contribute to this peatland research with (mobile) tower based eddy covariance measurements of greenhouse gas exchange at field scale and with airborne measurements using the same technique at regional scale. In past 3 years we have built a strong measurement programme that include 20+ operational sites and almost weekly survey flights. We are now managing, with partners across the Netherlands, a large and expanding data set serving analysis as well as policy outreach. We are a team of 8 people, including (field)technicians, PhD, PostDoc and senior staff, and our strengths are in the areas of eco-physiology, micro- and meso-scale meteorology, modelling and machine-learning techniques. We wish to strengthen our science base to analyse and publish the wealth of available data.
You will work on the following research topics
- design and implementation of (mobile) greenhouse gas monitoring strategies at field to regional scale in locations sampling the variety of organic soil types and associated land uses in the Netherlands
- processing and analysing the obtained high frequency eddy covariance data to greenhouse gas fluxes at diurnal to inter annual time scales; maintenance of the data base
- analyse and scale data from multiple locations and transects in relation to explanatory variables from vegetation and soil characteristics, land and water management and climate
- aim to ultimately provide data driven regional greenhouse gas balances for the different fen meadow areas of the Netherlands
Your work will consist of literature studies, analysis of in-situ greenhouse gas exchange data, as well as spatially distributed (satellite) data on vegetation, soil land and water qualities. You will be member of a larger team of scientists based at the partner universities, and technical support staff, within and outside
WUR working on this topic, and have interaction with various partners (water boards, land managers, policy makers, etc.) associated with land based greenhouse gas emissions. Your project results will be disseminated through papers in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings, but using popular media is also encouraged.
In case of a PhD position, we will jointly define the precise topic, depending on your skills and interests, and you will generate a detailed research proposal as a first step of your employment.